


if you're gonna be the death of me (that's how I want to go)

by aletterinthenameofsanity



Series: this could be good (love is patient, love is kind) [2]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Time Force
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Character, Bisexual Male Character, Character Development, Developing Relationship, Endgame OT3, Established Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Multi, Neither do I, POV Female Character, Paradox what paradox, Polyamory, Team as Family, Time Travel Fix-It, Trope Subversion/Inversion, bad tv show science can be fixed with bad fic science, but they're our raging dumpster fire, in which 'choose your destiny' is applied to Soulmates, just for you all, nothing but the rariest pairs, remember when this series was just 3000 word fics, trip and katie are a well-adjusted couple, wes jen and eric are a raging dumpster fire, what happens when you apply time travel to soulmates, while Lucas is living his best life, your dear author has fucked with canon just a bit again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-24 00:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17090480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity
Summary: One of the most well-known facts of Time Force is that the percentage of UnBonded officers is three times as high as their representation in the general population. It’s not that much of a surprise- it’s been well-documented that Soulmarks only exist on the skin when a person is in the same time period as their Soulmate, and for many Time Force members who desire romance but find themselves lacking Soulmarks, there is a chance that an officer could meet their Soulmate in another time.To anyone who meets their team, one would expect that Katie or Trip are the ones waiting for their Soulmate love rather than dating other UnBondeds. They are, after all, the most optimistic, childishly romantic ones of the bunch. Any stranger would be well within their rights to make such an assumption.But to be honest, it’s Lucas who’s waiting for Soulmate love. Katie and Trip are already married- they met in their first year of academy, started dating within a year, and married the year they both became officers- and Jen and Alex are dating. Despite all of them being UnBonded within this time sphere, only Lucas is the one chasing fairytales.





	if you're gonna be the death of me (that's how I want to go)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rivulet027](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivulet027/gifts).



> Title is from "Collar Full" by Panic! at the Disco and lyrics within fic are from "Hunger" by Florence + the Machine, both of which really fit the Time Force Rangers in this 'verse, both in lyrics and tune.

_At seventeen, I started to starve myself_

_I thought that love was a kind of emptiness_

_And at least I understood then the hunger I felt_

_And I didn't have to call it loneliness_

_We never found the answer but we knew one thing_

_We all have a hunger_

 

One of the most well-known facts of Time Force is that the percentage of UnBonded officers is three times as high as their representation in the general population. It’s not that much of a surprise- it’s been well-documented that Soulmarks only exist on the skin when a person is in the same time period as their Soulmate, and for many Time Force members who desire romance but find themselves lacking Soulmarks, there is a chance that an officer could meet their Soulmate in another time.

There is also another advantage to joining Time Force. Despite the hope that many Time Force officers have to meet their Soulmate at some point in the past, there are also a number who join Time Force looking for love in the other officers.

To anyone who meets their team, one would expect that Katie or Trip are the ones waiting for their Soulmate love. They are, after all, the most optimistic, childishly romantic ones of the bunch. Any stranger would be well within their rights to make such an assumption.

But to be honest, it’s Lucas who’s waiting for Soulmate love. Katie and Trip are already married- they met in their first year of academy, started dating within a year, and married the year they both became officers- and Jen and Alex are dating. Despite all of them being UnBonded within this time sphere, only Lucas is the one chasing fairytales. 

-

Then Alex dies, and they end up in the past, and they meet a guy who looks exactly like Alex. Wes Collins becomes their Red Ranger, and Katie has to figure out how to not look at this man like she's looking at a ghost.

-

That first night, on the beach, Katie catches a glimpse of unfamiliar red handwriting on Jen’s forearm when she goes to wash her hands. Jen catches her staring and levels her with a cold stare.

“The Marks on my arm mean nothing,” Jen says, voice dangerous not because it's made of steel but because it's made of pain. “Whoever they belong to, they’re not as important to me as the man I fell in love with on my own.”

Katie nods. She knows that if her Soulmate ended up being in this time, she wouldn’t even think of giving up Trip in exchange for whoever the fuck they are. She knows that Jen, just like her, foreswore making any Soulmarks of her own when she entered the Time Force. Love, to Time Force officers like them, is meant to be earned, not just given.

(At least, that’s how Katie sees it. Maybe Jen sees things differently, Katie's not sure. Jen and her have never discussed the intricacies of their reasonings for not chasing Soulmates, rather just relating over their shared choice to let things happen on their own.)

-

Lucas, on the other hand, isn’t like Katie or Jen or even Alex was. He’s one of the people who joined Time Force to find his Soulmate, however slim of a chance he has of that.

The night they end up in the Clocktower, Katie sees him renewing his Soulmarks under his uniform, just as he always does. Though she sees nothing but blue ink, she knows the words he’s writing by heart- they’re Time Force protocol.

 _My name is Lucas Kendall. Nice to meet you._  

But Katie has a feeling that they won't find Lucas's Soulmate in this time. They spent two nights on the beach and three days here so far, and nothing has happened. Despite that, though, she knows that Lucas will continue renewing his Soulmarks for however many days they live here in the past.

And Katie doesn't understand Lucas's constant, never-ending hope. She can't imagine spending all of that time waiting for a Soulmate. The waiting, the uncertainty, the possibility of never finding them- it would kill her. 

Katie lives for certainty, for knowing what things are and being able to identify them. She wants to be able to put her hands on things, to know that things will be there and won't disappear.

Trip and her- they're for certain. She loves Trip more than she loves anyone, and she can't ever imagine some random Soulmate changing that. They've had six years of getting to know each other, falling in love, making a home in each others' hearts. They've made their claim on their destinies. That certainty is going to get her through this mission, however long it takes.

Katie respects Lucas' strength a lot, his decision to stick to his Soulmate, because though it's not one she would ever make, it's one that takes a lot of faith and courage.

-

After Wes moves in with them, he asks them about their Soulmates. Katie's not surprised- she's seen the records about this time, and she knows just how important Soulmates are to humans.

"I'm not human, so I don't have a Soulmate bond in my genetic makeup," Trip begins the explanation. "I'm free to fall in love with whoever I want."

"And I, like a number of Time Force Rangers," Katie says, "Probably have a Soulmate that lies in another time period. I wasn't interested in waiting for them, though, as I had such a slight chance of meeting them and I wanted time to fall in love and build our family." She flashes Wes her ring. "Trip and I started dating six years ago when we entered the Academy and got married a couple years back, when we graduated and became officers."

"Congratulations," Wes says, smile warm though a little confused.

"I, on the other hand,  _am_ looking for my Soulmate," Lucas says, flashing his blue writing. "I'm not lucky enough to fall in love in our time, and I'm waiting to find them."

"Good luck," Wes says, "I hope you find them." Then he turns to Jen. "And you, Jen?" Wes asks, and Katie's pretty sure she can hear a slight increase in interest in his tone.

Katie holds her breath as she waits for Jen's response. Katie doesn't know if Jen trusts Wes yet with that information.

"I'm not looking for my Soulmate," Jen answers, "I found someone to love, but he's gone now. And I'm not looking for anything else."

Wes's expression falls, but only a little bit, and Katie breathes a small sigh of relief. That's one hurdle cleared.

"And what about you, Wes?" Trip asks, and for the first time since Katie's met Wes something goes a bit sad in his gaze. Trip's definitely hit a vulnerable spot.

"I've written for years, but no Soulmate ever answered back. I don't  _think_ I'm Soulless because I want to fall in love and I think I've sometimes seen stains on my arms that aren't my ink, but I've never had anyone respond to me with words so I haven't put  _too much_ effort into finding my Soulmate. Instead, I've just kinda been looking to fall in love on my own. I've just never met the right girl or guy to fall in love with, I guess."

"Well, good luck to you, too, Wes," Lucas says, but Katie's not looking at him. She's looking at Jen, who is staring at Wes with the most curious look on her face.

This is going to be interesting.

-

Katie watches as Jen starts to fall in love again. It’s a desperate, messy process, complicated by grief and a desire for revenge and a whole lot of other shit that Katie wishes her friend didn't have to go through.

She is happy, though, that Jen seems to be developing feelings for a man that shouldn't hurt her. Wes is a good man, if a sometimes clueless one, and Katie has good feelings about him.

She still occasionally glimpses red writing on Jen’s arm, but it’s few and far between. Jen’s Soulmate doesn’t write very often- or at least, Katie doesn’t think they do, as she only sees the red writing every few weeks in the time when they shower and get ready for bed. Otherwise, Jen keeps her arms covered up, even when they're just hanging inside the clock tower.

Most of the time, though, when they're not thinking about Soulmates or the future, Jen seems to be rather happy. She is really thriving in this time, leading their team and learning to work through her grief. Katie's not gonna deny that Jen's still prickly and stubborn and sometimes impatient, but her eyes shine and her laughter is unburdened. And that's really what Katie cares about.

All Katie wants is for the people she cares about to be happy. Watching Lucas learning how to drive these old-fashioned cars, Trip tinkering with tech from this time, Jen learning how to bake cookies (key word: _learning_ ), Wes taking everyone on 'tours' of this time, is definitely enough for Katie to be happy. 

-

They meet Eric and they fight with him and there are so many things about him that Katie can’t help but dislike. He's rude, he's a loner, he refuses to help the team fight Ransik. He insists on fighting alone, even after he becomes the Quantam Ranger, and Katie could really do without his lack of cooperation.

Then Trip looks at her and says, “He’s not mean, he’s just lonely,” and she thinks about just how alone she’s felt without her family here. For someone who doesn't have her support system, that could easily lead someone to be bitter.

She starts to watch him a little bit closer from then on, and though there doesn't seem to be much of a difference for awhile, she does pick up on one major thing- the way he looks at Wes when he thinks no one is watching. At the end of battles, after Wes has made yet another attempt to get Eric to join them, she catches the way Eric's gaze lingers for just a moment longer on Wes than the rest of them. His eyes soften just a little around the edges, and he looks at Wes like...well, like Jen looked when Alex died, like something she loved was gone forever. It's an expression that haunts Katie.

Though Eric never truly loses his stubborn, rude, lone-wolf-when-the-team-could-work-so-much-better-why-can't-this-idiot-just- _see_ manner, he does start to work alongside the team in certain ways. He learns to fight with Wes, if not the rest of them, and at least that's an improvement.

Though there are still a number of reasons why Katie doesn't like Eric, she begins to respect him a least somewhat.

-

Things are pretty good here in the past. Sure, Katie's risking her life everyday to fight Ransik's criminals, but otherwise she really enjoys life here. The clocktower has become a second home to her, its creaking floors and tall roof as familiar to her as the gleaming walls and shining walls of the future.

And it's all because of her friends. They make life as comfortable as it is. She watches movies with Wes, works shifts with Lucas, trains with Jen, and explores this time with Trip, going on dates to as many different places as they can find. Life is pretty damn good, and she finds herself not missing the future as much as she first did.

She still worries about her family back in the future, but for now she finds herself being plenty happy without being homesick.

-

Katie falls asleep each night with her arms curled around Trip. He loves being the little spoon and she has no problem letting him feel that way- as long as they're cuddling, she's happy. This is the way she's slept with him since before they were even married, when they were living in their single apartment a few blocks away from the Time Force Academy.

(Katie's not gonna deny that both of them being asexual is kinda a blessing in disguise now that they're living in an open room with three other people. Having sex would be a bit awkward with all these people in the room. Katie likes dates and kissing Trip wherever they are, no matter how many people are there, but she's not really into the idea of voyeurism.)

"Hey, Katie," Trip says one night when they've both changed into their pjs. Katie's sitting cross-legged on the bed, hair wrapped for the night and book in her lap, and Trip is tinkering with one of his inventions. Lucas is still off doing his extensive night hair care routine- and though Katie teases him about his mirror, she understands clinging to traditions and routines- and Katie's pretty sure Jen and Wes are off working some late-night job. For right now, it's just the two of them, and there's something comforting about the normalcy of their activities.

"Yeah, sweetie?" she asks, looking up from her book.

"Do you think we're really gonna take down Ransik?"

"I know we'll capture him," Katie says, "Jen made a promise and you know she's never broken a promise." It's almost scary just how good Jen's word is.

"I know she hasn't," Trip says, "But that was in the future, with all of our resources and stuff. And I believe in her, but who knows if we can do that here?"

"You don't have to worry. We're gonna do this, I promise." When Trip still looks uncertain, she gives him a small smile. "C'mere, honey," she says, patting the sheets next to her, and Trip grins. He stands up, walks over, and sits on the bed. She pulls his shoulders in a little, resting her forehead against his. He lets out a small, pleasurable sigh as they connect, and she smiles softly.

She has learned a lot about Trip's home planet in people in the time they were dating and even into their marriage. She knows that the easiest way to ease a Xybrian's stress is to place their forehead against yours, to allow their gem to rest against either another gem or against your own skin, especially if you're someone with thoughts as steady as Katie when it comes to Trip.

"Thanks, Kay," Trip says, and she smiles. That's another Xybrian custom she's learned- the shortening of a lover's name to the first syllable, if it's not already a one syllable name, is considered a gesture of intimacy.

"No problem, love," she says, because it's never an issue to help her husband find comfort.

Then he pulls her into a kiss- a decidedly Earthian custom that they both enjoy- and she's the one relaxing.

"I love you," she says, and that's a phrase that belongs to no specific culture.

"I love you, too," he says, and his smile is something she would travel a thousand years and a million worlds away to protect.

-

Alex returns and Katie's pretty perfect world is shattered. Wes is gone and so are their fun times in this time period. Their clothing, their games, even their smiles- they're all gone, replaced by Time Force mandated uniformity.

And though Katie used to really  _like_ the comfort that Time Force's rules gave her, now she  _hates_ them. She hates that Wes is gone, that everything enjoyable about 2001 is gone. Trip is stiff, Lucas won't look them in the eye, and Jen- 

Katie most especially hates the way that Jen acts around Alex, the way her eyes look empty and her back is permanently straightened. It's like back when Alex first 'died,' when Jen went off on her quest for justice and landed them all here in the back. Jen's gotten to be so happy and open here in this time, and Alex is just reverting her back in so many ways.

(Not even _Eric_ at his worst is as bad as Alex is right now.)

-

When Alex hands over the Morpher to Wes and returns to 3001, though, his ring is still around Jen's finger. But Katie can tell that Jen doesn't view her ring in the way that Katie and Trip see theirs- it's not comforting, not a reminder of love and support. It's a reminder of a past that Katie's pretty sure that Jen is clinging to the frayed edges of, trying to decide whether to let go or not.

It's probably a traitorous thought, but Katie hopes that Jen chooses Wes over Alex. It's not just that she likes him better (though she does- Wes is much kinder and optimistic than Alex is, nowadays)- it's that she thinks that Jen will be happier with Wes. Alex is just so bitter, so rigid in the ways of Time Force, while Wes is open-minded and will listen to everyone. He's not a dictator like Alex was acting.

Jen is far more open now than she was when they first ended up in the past, and Katie is so grateful for it. There has been a weight lifted from Katie's friend's shoulders, a tension relieved from her spine, and Katie is far too happy to leave Alex in the future where he belongs.

-

Things return to normal- well, the strange, wonderful brand of normal that exists for a team of Rangers stranded in a time not their own, trying to capture a mutant criminal. They all go back to their lives from  before Alex's arrival, but this time with a certain sense of closure. Alex is alive, now, and Wes is no longer worrying about dealing with his father's plans for his destiny.

Jen and Wes continue to dance around each other, but now Lucas, Trip, and Katie are actively trying to help them admit their feelings for each other. They send them on jobs and secret missions together, trying to get one of their oblivious asses to wise up and make a move on the other.

Nowadays, when Wes volunteers for stupidly brave, almost suicidal missions, Katie recognizes the worry in Jen's eyes. She can see the similiar concern in Wes' eyes when Jen's in danger, and for a moment Katie remembers why Jen fell in love with Alex before everything changed. Alex had that same look in his eyes, that simulataneous faith in Jen's abilities and fear for her safety.

Then Katie will blink and she'll find Wes laughing over a Western movie, a broken mirror, a dropped egg or smashed pizza, and she knows that he's a far different man than Alex is. Alex has changed too much from the days when she first knew him, and Wes is nowhere near the man that barked orders without thought to his teammates' wishes.

(Though, if she's honest with herself, she does respect the way that Alex helped out Wes' dad, despite its consequences for the timelines. Alex is still too different, but he's not completely gone.)

-

They're told that if they stay in the past they won't survive, and suddenly they have a choice to make.

The choice goes down the line, and one by one they each make the decision.

Lucas won't leave. Trip won't leave. Katie won't leave. And Jen-

Jen is the one who sits them down and is the first to say that that she's not leaving. When she hears their unanimous agreement, she gives them a small, proud smile.

The past is going to be their grave, and they've made their peace with it. They're not letting Wes- their teammate, their friend, the person they all love, in their own way- die alone.

-

Wes tricks them into entering the future and suddenly Katie finds herself back in her time, but she doesn't care. Alex tells them that Wes and Eric are dead, and her family doesn't matter in that moment.

All she can think about is Wes and Eric, broken and bloodied and  _dead_.

- 

When Jen bursts out of the memory wipe, Katie knows that she has made a decision to return to the past, to Wes and everything that they loved. Katie knows that Jen is refusing to let Wes die, refusing to let the time lines fall the way they do.

And Katie doesn't want to let Wes die, either. None of the team does- they're a family, and they can't bear to let anyone she loves die.

Screw paradoxes. Screw destiny. The timelines will fall where they may, and things may change, but life will go on. She's read the Archives kept by Time Force- things always go on, when it comes to the Rangers.

Jen hands back her ring to Alex, says goodbye, and despite Katie's desire to see Jen choose Wes she doesn't take any pleasure in the way Alex's face slumps just slightly even as he lets them go. Alex was her friend, and she doesn't want to see him in pain.

Then Lucas, Katie, and Trip all follow Jen back in time, follow their leader wherever and whenever she takes them, because it turns out that they all have the same faith in this woman that Alex and Wes have. Katie knows that they would follow her anywhere, even into death, because this is Jen Scotts and they trust her with everything they have. It's a fact as constant as gravity or Katie's love for Trip, an eternal truth of the universe.

They won't let Wes- or Eric, the obstinate fucker that he is- die when they can help.

-

A battle is won, but it's not a straightforward capture- there's an apology, and a reform, and suddenly the mission Jen promised Alex so long ago has a different outcome. To be honest, Katie's not too shocked that after everything they've come to know about changing destiny, that Ransik's destiny has changed as well.

Then there is a beach, and a goodbye.

-

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

They’re on the beach. Jen has hugged Wes for the last time. She's about to turn and leave, but Wes is nervously playing with the sleeve of his button-down. It pulls up a bit thanks to his fiddling. Jen doesn't mean to look, but her gaze automatically follow the motion downward, and-

That’s the handwriting that makes up Jen's Soulmarks. Those are the Red words that she occasionally sees before bed, during the time when she lets herself look at her arms.

And right now the words say _I’m sorry, but-_ The rest is obscured by his jacket sleeve.

Jen doesn't hesitate. She immediately rolls up her sleeve, ignoring Wes’ gasp, and finds almost an entire letter written on her arm.

_I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to die, so I need to tell you the truth. I’m sorry, but I’ve fallen in love with someone else. And I know that-_

There are a few more words beyond that, but they’re obscured by Jen’s tears. She knew her Soulmate lived in this time, knew that somewhere out there a stranger whose soul fit with hers existed, but she hadn’t put too much thought into it. She’d fallen in love with Alex before she’d even had a chance to go on a mission, and putting aside some stranger had been easy to do when she was in love. Even after she'd lost Alex and started to fall in love with Wes, she hadn't paid any attention to her Soulmarks. Some stranger wasn't going to make her destiny- she would make it herself.

But Wes- he isn’t some stranger. He’s far more than that. She loves him and his kindness and his bright smile and his earnest desire to help. She loves his passion for Western movies, his skill at chess, his strength in battle.

Does she really have to return? She has said her final goodbyes to Alex, returned his ring and everything. All that's left is to return Ransik and Nadira to the future, to officially complete the mission. 

All she's wanted is to serve justice, to defend the world from crime. But does she have to give up on love, on the chance to live a long life with the man she loves- her Soulmate- to do that? She can trust her team to finish the job in the future- she can continue to help the past. She knows for a fact that there are a number of Ranger teams over the years, with a very heavy concentration in the early 21st century. She can do a lot of good helping them out.

“I didn’t think I’d find my Soulmate,” Jen says, “And I didn’t really care, when I had Alex. Then I met you and fell in love with you, and I didn't care then. And now..."

"Now?" Wes asks, voice full of uncertainty.

Jen looks back at the entrance to the ship and she knows- she knows that she doesn’t want to leave. She wants to stay, and this is the final push she thinks she needs to make the decision to remain in this time.

Paradoxes are complicated things. If she stays, will it make a new timeline? Will it alter things? Who the fuck knows?

If there's one thing that Wes has taught her, it's that anyone has the power to change their destiny. That's what she did when she made the decision to come back, to keep him from dying. And now, with further proof of what she knows...

She is going to miss her team, that's for sure. They have become much closer than colleagues, than even the friendship they held in the future. Now, they are family, and it's going to hurt saying goodbye.

Katie, Trip, and Lucas look out at her from the entrance to the ship, and all she sees is sympathy in their expressions.

“Stay,” Katie says, an understanding smile on her face. Jen can see Katie and Trip’s wedding bands glinting in the bright beach sun. “We get it.”

Trip nods enthusiastically. "We want you to be happy, Jen."

Lucas smiles. "It's worth it."

“I hope you find your Soulmate, Lucas,” Jen says, "And that Katie, you reconnect with your family back home. Trip, I hope you have a good time introducing some of this time's games to the future. All of you, good luck with Ransik and Nadira. Then, when you're done..." She reaches to her side and takes Wes' hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. “Come visit sometime, okay?” she says, and her team- _their_ team- nods.

"To all good returns, Jen," Trip says, speaking the common farewell from his planet- they don't say goodbye, because the only true farewell is death. Trip is saying that he hopes to see her again, and Jen hopes that too.

"To all good returns, guys," she says, and they step into the ship as the door shuts behind them. She waves as the ship takes off, and she only looks away once it has flashed its way into the future.

She turns back to Wes and finds him staring at her, unbearable hope in his eyes. “I’m staying,” she says, the same steel entering her spine that did when her team decided to leave the future to chase Ransik. Now, though, that steel isn’t made of grief. It’s made of hope.

Wes reaches up and rests a hand against her cheek. He's so gentle, so unlike battle and war and the death that was supposed to await them. 

Then he leans in, and-

She’s kissed Alex a thousand times before, but this is somewhat different. Wes’ kiss is soft and gentle, his lips chapped against hers. She can taste the ash from the battle on both of their lips. In any other situation, this would be kind of gross, but as the culmination of a year of falling in love with this man, she can't complain.

They eventually part. Jen reaches out a hand to Wes and he takes it, giving her a smile she could happily drown in. The two of them turn to face Eric, the only Silver Guardian that remained on the beach after the ship took off. He's got a bandage over his forehead and something strange in his eyes.

“So,” Eric says, “You found someone else.” He doesn’t sound upset with his statement, just sort of resigned as he offers out a hand to Wes. “Congratulations, Wes.”

Wes, on the other hand, seems confused. “Someone _else_?”

Eric rolls up his right sleeve, and-

Jen thought that her bar for shock could no longer be cleared, but the familiar red ink on Eric’s arm says otherwise.

Wes looks between Jen and Eric in shock. “You’re both-?” he swallows, unable to put his feelings into words, and she understands. She remembers the lump in her throat that had risen when she'd first seen his face, the way no words could express the disbelief that she was seeing her dead fiance's face a thousand years before he had even been born.

One blow to the gut with Wes being her Soulmate- and thus, her deciding to stay here in the past- was more than enough for today. Finding out that Eric is  _also_ Wes' Soulmate? Jen's not sure how she's still standing.

And if Eric is Wes’ Soulmate and she is too, then that must mean that...

Eric is her Soulmate. It’s not the strangest of ideas in the world, though at the moment he resembles too much of Alex’s bitterness to be as attractive as Wes is. The sacrifices he made for the team, though, are certainly something to note.

“Both what?” Eric asks, arching an eyebrow, and Jen imagines what he must be feeling. Wes’ note to his Soulmate- who he must not have realized was Eric, who must have never written back to Wes as a child- had spelled things out pretty clearly as to his feelings (or lack thereof) in regards to his Soulmate.

But she has a feeling that Wes’ affection for Eric is not exactly the level he would have had to some stranger as his Soulmate.

She's not quite sure how to feel about it. She spent so long falling in love with Wes, trying to figure out how to juggle her feelings for Wes with her feelings for Alex and the implications that all of said feelings had for her Ranger duties and her charge to arrest Ransik. To add Eric to the relationship- that fells just a bit insane.

Looking at Eric, having some idea of what he went through- she's pretty sure that Wes' affection for Eric is not undeserved.

“Both Soulmates,” Wes answers, and the surprised look on his face shifts into a brilliant smile. “All three of us are Soulmates.”

For the first time in Jen’s time knowing Eric, he seems properly shocked, eyes widening and features slackening.

(Jen's not the only one who's been dealt blows in the past few hours.)

"How the fuck is that possible?" Eric asks, and she understands where he's coming from. "You're from the future, aren't you?"

Wes, voice halting, explains a quick version of things- that Time Force officers often have Soulmates in another time- as Jen looks at Eric.

Jen remembers saving Eric from his fall into the river and, despite his clear distrust of the team, him not telling Mr. Collins that they were from the future. He's the one who got them the cure for Venomax's poison. She knows that the only reason Wes is still alive now is because Eric as the Quantum Ranger had kept him so while her and the team were in the future.

He isn’t as openly kind and optimistic as Wes, but he _is_ a good man. She knows that. He fought to save the city, sacrificed himself so that Mr. Collins and Wes could survive. He gave Wes his Quantam Defender to save the city.

There is something attractive about the curve of Eric's mouth, something between Alex’s bitterness and Wes’ eternal idealistic kindness. Jen thinks that Eric can probably empathize Jen's bitter drive for justice a bit better than Wes can. Wes certainly understands, but up until recently she's not sure that he's been able to empathtize. Even now, after battle and near-death, she's not sure that he even now completely gets that bitterness. 

Eric was not a possibility she entertained until now, but she can't say that she's entirely opposed to the idea of him. Right now, there is a weight missing from her ring finger and writing lining her arm. There are a million possible futures for her to choose from.

Soulmarks are a suggestion, every Time Force Agent knows that. You have a choice to follow them or to fall in love yourself, to take the suggestion or take off running.

Jen might just be willing to take that suggestion.

Jen is nowhere near ready to kiss Eric, but she is ready to give him a chance. The universe was right about Wes- it might just be right about Eric.

(Jen knows that she is being far more open than she’d normally be, but she’s riding a high from deciding to stay with Wes.

She has seen the way that Eric occasionally looks at Wes, in the way that she was when she had decided that the right thing to do would be to return to the future and resume her Time Force duties. It’s the look of a soldier prepared to lose everything they love.

She, Wes, and Eric all deserve a chance at happiness, and they've all made efforts towards that goal. All three of them have rejected the destinies placed before them.

Jen won't let this be a tragedy, ending in star-crossed lovers and a thousand years separating her from the man she loves. She's had enough of bending to rules and being the perfect Time Force Ranger. It's time, once again, to choose her own fucking destiny.)

She gives Eric a tired smile. “Well, we've got plenty of time to work everything out.” She offers out a hand to him and he stares at it for a moment before taking it.

“Glad you’re staying, Jen,” Eric says, giving her a small, raw smile, and she nods.

“Glad I’m staying, too,” Jen says, looking at Eric and his potential before glancing at Wes and his steadiness. There could definitely be something here, between these three Rangers. The three of them are leaders, stubborn and unflinching and strong. Anything they put their effort into they can accomplish, and Jen can only imagine what the three of them could do together.

The future- their future- contains every possibility.

“Now, I’m hungry,” she says, because she was the Time Force team leader for a number of reasons, one of which was the ability to take charge of a situation. “Fighting a world-saving battle takes a lot out of a Ranger. You two want to go grab something to eat, and then we can talk some more?”

Eric and Wes both seem a little surprised by the suggestion, but she just levels her gaze at them. Wes cracks first, shrugging and giving her a warm smile. "Sounds good to me. Pizza okay with you two?"

"Pizza's good with me," Eric says, and there are a million things yet to learn about him but she's willing to put the work in. After all, she's put the work into falling in love twice before. What's one more time? Sure, it'll be more complicated as she's going to try to work out a relationship while they both already care for the same man, but she's led her team of Rangers to save the world dozens of times. How hard can one relationship, however complicated, be compared to that?

"Then let's go," Jen says, offering them both a smile, and then she heads off of the beach and into a new- much closer- future.

-

Katie leans back on the seat between Lucas and Trip. “We’re definitely visiting them,” Trip asks, “Right?”

“Of course we are,” she says, voice firm, as she takes Trip’s hand in hers. She thinks of the past year, of the life they built in the past, the people they loved and the fun they had in between fights to save the world. She can’t wait to see her and Trip’s family back in the future, but she knows that they have family in the past as well now. And Katie is just as unwilling to give up on them as she was unwilling to give up on her family in 3001.

She looks to her left and finds Lucas looking down at his forearm, where familiar blue writing lays. For a single second, orange handwriting flashes across his wrist, too fast to make out anything, before disappearing from his skin as fast as it came.

“You’re going back for your Soulmate, aren’t you?” Katie asks, and she’s not judging him. She’s not looking for hers- she’s got everything she needs right here, with the man holding her hand- but she wants her best friend to be happy.

Lucas nods. “Not right now, but someday."

"2030-2035," Trip says.

Lucas raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"That's approximately the year range in which the Soulmark showed up."

Lucas blinks at him. "You sure, man?"

Trip nods before leaning his head against Katie's shoulder. She smiles at the feeling of her husband cuddling so close to her. The battle was really draining and she's glad for everything to be getting back at least a little closer to normal.

"Settle in for the ride, Lucas," she says as she settles back in her seat and closes her eyes, ready for the journey home.

Here's to the new future, wherever it takes them.

  

_Oh, you and all your vibrant youth_

_How could anything bad ever happen to you?_

_Don't let it get you down, you're the best thing I've seen_

_You make a fool of death with your beauty, and for a moment_

_I forget to worry_

**Author's Note:**

> This series has pretty much become the very definition of "if you want to read it and you can't find it, you have to write it yourself," because I can find almost no fics in these fandoms and no fics with the ships I have. Therefore, you guys get to have the products of my irritation. Please leave kudos and comments if you liked it- both are a writer's lifeblood and are very much appreciated.
> 
> Also, anyone have any idea where to put this fic in this series chronologically speaking, in 2001 or in 3001?


End file.
